About us

El Colegio Charter School is a small public high school in Minneapolis that has been serving students in English and Spanish since 2000.

El Colegio engages students in challenging, profound learning experiences that integrate research-based teaching strategies with Latino culture and traditions. We provide a supportive and personalized environment so that students are known well and are individually supported to meet the challenges of high school and beyond.

El Colegio students develop the skills and personal qualities needed to be successful in college and employment, to be comfortable and excel in a bilingual/bicultural environment, and to be leaders in their communities and the world.

History

El Colegio was conceived by teachers and artists who worked in traditional urban high schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul using an inter-disciplinary arts integrated approach to teaching and learning. Their successes with students who had previously been disengaged and their challenges with the traditional system led to the birth of El Colegio. The Board of Education of Minnesota approved Augsburg College (www.augsburg.edu) as the school’s sponsor in 1999, and El Colegio opened its doors to 65 students in September 2000. Since then we have grown to a diverse group of 100 students and 15 staff. We have been recognized locally and nationally as an innovative force in improving achievement for Latino students and other students of color, and we have seen over 90 graduates head out into the world, many who are first generation high school graduates and many who are attending and completing college here in Minnesota and elsewhere.

El Colegio Charter School is authorized by Pillsbury United Communities, which is approved by the Minnesota Department of Education to authorize charter schools in the state of Minnesota.

All charter schools in Minnesota are required to have an authorizer. An authorizer grants the original charter allowing the school to open and operate, continually monitors and evaluates the school’s performance, and, based on the school’s performance, determines whether or not to renew the charter over time.